#this is a silly theory and not meant to be taken seriously

[pftones3482]

Caught up on Hamster and Gretel and now here I am with a whacky fun theory

So this organization, right:

Fedora symbol? Stealing animals? All of said animals have alliterating names? They SELL the animals???

Theory that OWCA gets its agents (at least some of them) from black market dealers. Even more insane theory - OWCA specifically set up the Syndicate and hired Dr. Hawthorne to get them more agents without having to go through the longer, more legal method.

[randoimago]

I've seen this really silly dnd character meme where it's a warlock whose patron is their parent 😂. So can I ask for Percy cr campaign 1, Fjord cr campaign 2, Gale and Wyll's baldurs gate 3 reaction to their warlock s/o's patron being their dad?

S/O's Patron is Their Dad

Fandom: Critical Role // Baldur's Gate 3

Character(s): Percy De Rolo, Fjord Tough, Gale Dekarios, Wyll Ravengard

Type of Request: Headcanons

Note(s): God the chaos that would happen from this. Especially with the Critical Role characters, it'd just be wild.

Percy

He didn't realize that was a possibility. If he was younger, he would've struck as many deals as possible if it meant his family were still with him. Patrons or not. There's just a touch of bitterness from Percy, but his default mode is bitch so you can't really tell.

Percy doesn't really change anything that he does when he learns that your father is your patron. He has questions, sure, but he's not going to suddenly try and win favors. He's sure your father has other things to do than constantly watch over you.

Sorry if kissing is a bit awkward for you, but Percy isn't going to deny himself the taste of your lips just because daddy dearest might be looking in (he'll have some choice words though).

Fjord

Oh he is sweating when he learns that your father is your patron. Does that mean he's always watching? Is Fjord going to be struck down if he even looks at you in a less than platonic way?

Seriously being so polite and stiff with you for a bit after he learns before he remembers all the things you both have already done and the flirtations that passed between you. And then thinking, "Oh hells, did your dad see that?!"

Seriously, you're going to have to be the one to reassure Fjord and talk to him that your dad isn't constantly watching. You get your magic from him, sure, but he's not constantly around so Fjord doesn't have to keep his eyes and hands to himself.

Gale

Well that's an interesting perdicament you're in. Can't help but ask how that happened. Did your parent die and as a way to not leave you alone, they became a patron somehow? Perhaps you're mixed with some Fey or Fiend or Other Worldly being? Maybe it's-

Seriously, he could just go and on with theories as to how that happened. Especially if you have no idea how it happened, he will get to the bottom of this because it's fascinating to him.

If your patron father does pop in at some point, Gale is sure to give a smile and introduce himself and promise that he's taking good care of you. Would probably pout a bit if your dad doesn't like him, but he can summon magic cats so Gale is sure he'll win your dad over yet!

Wyll

He can't help but find some amusement in the situation. Your father is your patron while his father pretty much kicked him out due to his own patron. It's an interesting situation too.

Now and then Wyll does ponder if perhaps you're part something else. Just because most patrons he knows are fey, fiends, or some otherwordly entity. With how happy you make him, he doubts your father could be some kind of devil.

While he can see why having your father as your patron isn't optimal, he would certainly have taken that over his own patron. But he tries not to be bitter and does his best to be a good boyfriend, hoping your father doesn't mind if he shares a few late night dances with you.

Taglists: @reo-the-leo @unhelpfulnpc

[sunderingstars]

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✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER! ⌝

sampo analysis m.list

— a silly little overview of different "sampos" i find interesting

— not meant to be taken super seriously or canonically, but can tie in to some of the theories i have

— in the true spirit of elation, these aren't hills i'm willing to die on, just ones that are fun to play around with :3

— feel free to use for writing/art inspiration!

— i add to this periodically as new sampos catch my eye!

— word count: 3k (good lord)

— 🎭s indicate aha!sampo

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🎭 sampo "midlife crisis" koski

— at risk of losing his aeon/emanatorhood

— doesn’t find anything funny anymore

— tired of being behind the scenes

— becoming a buzzkill (having “lines” he won’t cross)

— taking drastic measures to improve his quality of life (fucking off to a random ass snow planet to scam people)

note: may lead to a villain arc — sampo "renewed vigor" koski — in which he remembers why he used to love tormenting people, conquers his midlife crisis, and returns to pure elated insanity. this is bad for everyone involved for obvious reasons

🎭 sampo "how're you gonna win if you never take any risks?" koski

— aha took drastic measures to secure their success, either through memory erasure, mortal transformation, giving up power, or all three

— under the radar, civilian aha

— trying to circumvent “destiny” through delusional self-confidence

— enter sampo i mean aha i mean sampo i mean aha i mean s

sampo "ceaseless watcher's special little boy" koski

— not aha but aha definitely likes him

— perhaps an avatar or emanator of some sort

— whether he likes aha or not is up for debate

— can easily turn into sampo "ceaseless watcher get their ass" koski, in which sampo becomes a little too fond of invoking his status as aha's favorite to accomplish his own goals

alternate possibility: he’s aha’s favorite due to his pathetic nature and slutty hip windows, he just doesn’t know it. he thinks his luck is due to his own talent & skill (it is literally outside eldritch forces beyond his control)

sampo "close enough" koski

— not an actual aeon, but rather a vessel for aha’s power or consciousness on varying levels

— perhaps akin to caelus/stelle being a stellaron receptacle

sampo "let's get you back to bed grandpa" koski

— the wear and tear of a long life has taken its toll on him

— despite the infinity of time, he has become out-of-sync with newer masked fools members, who regard him as an “old timer”

— isn’t shown much respect, and is frequently asked why he isn’t as cool as he used to be

— also know as sampo "L + ratio + fell off" koski

— “peaked in high school” energy

— can be either aha, emanator, or similar high status

🎭 sampo "in rehab" koski

— aeonic existence isn’t easy and can, in fact, take a toll on those that ascend from human forms

— he finally decided that maybe he should make a change

— and has thus embarked on a healing journey

— therapeutic exercises include: scamming people, starting pyramid schemes, selling artifacts on the black market, and more!

sampo "ultimate dealmaker" koski

— in a contract or some sort of deal with aha in exchange for power, money, or a combination or the two

— possession? who knows

🎭 sampo "i'm not mad i'm just disappointed" koski

— doesn’t understand why his children have strayed so far

— “where did i go wrong? why do they think this is funny? do they even care about the worm?”

— has the energy of an exasperated parent watching his kids flush car keys down the toilet again

🎭 sampo "horrified creator" koski

— aha & the masks have outgrown their creator (sampo) and have gone off to do their own aeonic thing, leaving him behind

— he thinks it’s all insane, actually, and he’s very disappointed and very tired

— trying to pick up the pieces of whatever mayhem the aha!masks cause

— aha!masks keep him around for fun

— “i should never have laughed at that goddamn baby”

sampo "me and aha kiss on the weekends" koski

— just a silly little guy who has somehow wormed his way into the heart of an eldritch being

— in it for the mind-bending sex

sampo "blasphemy" koski

— technically affiliated with the masked fools but doesn’t subscribe to their beliefs

— thinks aha is a load of horseshit but needs to keep up with what they’re doing to circumvent it

— may have been formerly in a high-ranking position, or just another guy with a mask

— aha probably wronged him or did some fucked up shit in the past and now he has a vendetta

🎭 sampo "stole my fucking thunder" koski

— someone stole aha’s power. that’s it

— sampo is salty

— 10/10 betrayal plot

potential inverse: he’s the one stealing aha’s power

sampo "my boss sucks and i want to quit" koski

— tired, overworked employee of the masked fools

— views aha as a sort of fucked up insane ceo that he wants nothing to do with but is unfortunately contractually obligated to work for

— wants to start a union

🎭 sampo "next in line" koski

— can also branch into sampo "formerly in line" koski or sampo "abdication" koski

— wherein aha’s power or masks are akin to titles or positions that are passed down between different people, somewhat akin to how “crowns” and “kings” work

— in this case, sampo would either be currently in line for this power, formerly in line for this power, or has actually been in power but abdicated or otherwise lost/gave up/moved on from his position

— this could be natural or otherwise

note: this does not have to be solely for aha, this kind of power transfer could work for other high-ranking positions like emanator or organization leader

🎭 sampo "this price was too steep..." koski

— got a bit cocky and wagered his aeonhood

— is now in a Not Great position

sampo "i hate owing people things" koski

— owes aha one

— does not like owing people things

— doing whatever he needs to cancel out the debt

🎭 sampo "i was crazy back then lol" koski

— the universe’s idea of aha writ large is based on an outdated version of their personality

— this always annoys sampo because he has to be constantly reminded of his insane college days before he mellowed out

— the type to reminisce over wine and say “yeah that worm thing was wild. i was crazy back then huh”

🎭 sampo "committed to the bit" koski

— one of my personal favorites

— became mortal as a joke

— ended up liking it a little too much

— doesn’t really want to go back

sampo "worm on a string" koski

— what is a man if not just another omniscient worm destined for tragedy?

— he’s a puppet, basically

— & he just gets wormed around like he’s on a string

— hence the name

— another one of aha’s classic cosmic jokes

🎭 sampo "one of many" koski

— ties into my split consciousness theory

— aha split their personality into multiple people (either as a joke or for a bigger reason) and sampo is one of those pieces

🎭 sampo "yeah i heard aha was super cool and hot and sexy and smart and did i mention sexy" koski

— big fan of the rumor mill

— can’t help but try to win people over to the elation even when he’s supposed to be laying low

— he’s not fooling anyone. just yesterday serval watched him laugh until he cried because a kid dropped their ice cream. he is not slick

🎭 sampo "reverted to babey" koski

— someway, somehow, aha got reverted back to who they were before they ascended to aeonhood

— now sampo is just really fucking confused (and annoyed because mortal life is pretty annoying)

sampo "character creation screen" koski

— aha just had a silly goofy lil day & wanted to create a guy

— so they did

— sampo acts as a kind of controlled character who’s self-aware about his position as a playable character

— or alternatively he was turned loose with no purpose scaramouche-style and is now just fucking around doing whatever

sampo "failed clone" koski

— obligatory clone theory

— aha tried to clone themself. it wasn’t as funny as they wanted

— sampo is the result

— aha realizing sampo was a bit of a buzzkill: “i don’t want to play with you anymore”

🎭 sampo "vicarious existence" koski

— part of the split consciousness theory

— aha sectioned off or created a part of themself that can live in a way they can’t (i.e. have free will beyond the elation)

— similar to the focalors/furina situation in genshin

sampo "trojan horse" koski

— is his own person, under the impression he has free will, but is being used as an unknowing vehicle for eventual Big Aha Moment

🎭 sampo "can't remember shit" koski

— he forgor :((

— used to be aha but doesn’t know that

— most likely erased his own memory in order to accomplish a planned endgame

🎭 sampo "you don't wanna see me when i transform" koski

— dual consciousness theory

— sampo koski as a human is much more rational and reasonable than eldritch-form aha

— sampo likes to stay as sampo as much as possible because he doesn’t like what he becomes when he changes forms

— may lead to a tragic arc where, in order to defend belobog, he reverts to his aeonic form knowing he won’t be able to transform back

sampo "lmao got you" koski

— all signs pointing towards aeon or emanator status are red herrings

— he’s just really good at gaslighting to get what he wants

sampo "whoops i got attached" koski

— fucked off to belobog for whatever reason

— got surprisingly attached

— belobog now has an extremely powerful entity/protector without even knowing it

— “it’s just a weird insane little place. very charming” — sampo, probably

🎭 sampo "elias bouchard" koski

— just a shell for aha, jonah magnus style

— used to be his own person, but got yoinked along the way

🎭 sampo "5d mind chess" koski

— knows exactly what he’s been doing from the beginning

— strategic placement on belobog to meet the trailblazer

— has done a damn good job of coming off as “normal pathetic scammer mcgee” to distract from larger plans

🎭 sampo "just like everyone else" koski

— for whatever reason, aha is insistent that they be treated just like any other member of the masked fools; same rules, same hierarchy, everything

— this results in everyone looking at him weirdly but not saying anything and trying to strike up casual conversation with their literal aeon

sampo "gimme your eldritch money" koski

— the final form of scammers everywhere

— he’s scammed everyone he possibly can, and now there’s only one thing left: to scam an aeon

— chooses aha + the masked fools because there’s a good chance he’ll get stuff just because aha is amused with him

— tries to link aha up with a pyramid scheme

sampo "you should see me in a crown" koski

— either on a delusional self-confident power trip or gunning for aha’s power

— can be aha, emanator, or other high-ranking position, but aha works the best if sampo wants to go all the way up the ladder

— thinks he’s the best ever and can never fail, pairs well with “5d mind chess” sampo like fine wine

— drunk on power/worship

🎭 sampo "wine aunt" koski

— also known as sampo "washed up aeon" koski

— he’s out of the limelight, whether that means he passed on his power, had it taken from him in a free for all, or just wants to retire, and now he’s kicking back with a margarita and enthralling the belobog locals with “hypothetical” scenarios that are actually crazy mind-bending stories from his glory days

— he’s not as great as he used to be, nor does he have the power of a full-fledged aeon anymore, but belobog appreciates him all the same (goes hand in hand with sampo "just like everyone else" koski)

— “geez yeah, ix is so annoying. such a buzzkill, really, that guy even hates knock-knock jokes. i mean, who hates knock-knock jokes? … hypothetically, of course.” — sampo, probably

🎭 sampo "zhongli the funeral consultant" koski

— aha is secretly “dead” but no one knows

— perhaps the masked fools know, but either way sampo has either already faked his death, is currently doing it, or is planning to in the future

— he just wants to retire man, and if that means he has to “fall” then so be it

sampo "just a silly guy" koski

— there is actually nothing special to this man at all

— he’s just a guy. just a silly little guy

— aha is laughing at all of us for even making theories about him

sampo "aha jr." koski

— sampo is a doll created by aha like in the simulated universe occurrence, having the same appearance as aha’s human form and sharing personality & path attributes

— most likely wants to break away from the elation’s influence but doesn’t know how

— views aha as a really fucked up dad

sampo "oh my god i'm in a cult" koski

— raised in the masked fools, didn’t realize how batshit insane they were until a Formative Traumatic Event occurred and he went “oh.. oh no…..”

— estranged from most of the members but still deals with them in the way you do when you hate your family but have to put up with them at holiday dinners

— maybe got to a high position of power before, but left when he realized it wasn’t good for him

sampo "partners in crime" koski

— him & aha are friends, besties even

— knows the risks of working with an aeon but can’t say no when that much money is involved

🎭 sampo "for funsies" koski

— if aha can give the entire universe’s knowledge to a worm for fun, then by god they can give all of their power and aeonhood to a silly little guy randomly for no reason whatsoever (especially if he doesn’t want it)

— constantly fighting against increasingly powerful eldritch control

— “young god”

— canon in my heart

sampo "reality tv" koski

— part of the vicarious emanator theory

— aha gave him all their power and basically watches him like a reality show

— *pokes sampo with a stick* “hey why aren’t you doing anything” — aha, probably

— constant voyeurism

sampo "communism" koski

— part of the dual consciousness and vicarious emanator theories

— one of aha’s emanators that they share their entire path with

— “our” power

— perhaps some sort of memory or consciousness sharing

sampo "horse girl" koski

— “but your dream is to be an emanator”

— “no that’s your dream dad, not mine”

🎭 sampo "aeons anonymous" koski

— aeon in rehabilitation

— wants to start a former aeon support group

🎭 sampo "power receptacle" koski

— in which the masks function as the true “aha” and sampo has given them up or put them away for safekeeping

— “sparkle please please i’m so serious just let me put it back on once. no seriously only once i promise i won’t go insane like last time i’ll be so normal it’ll only be for five minutes please” — sampo, probably

sampo "one-sided hate boner" koski

— man absolutely hates aha (probably for backstory reasons)

— aha doesn’t care at best and at worst thinks it’s really really funny

— “you burned my house to the ground!”

— “🤷”

— “my family is dead!”

— “🤷”

— bonus points if aha makes him an emanator or something

sampo "significant annoyance" koski

— dedicated to being as annoying as possible to aha, whether out of spite, a vendetta, or sheer interest

— aha finds this funny so they let him stick around

— “he graffitied my mask with a bunch of dicks and it took me years to get it off. isn’t he just the greatest little guy?” — aha, probably

sampo "god's silliest soldier" koski

— aha gives their hardest battles to their silliest soldiers

— and that is sampo

sampo "true wild card" koski

— he’s not aha, an emanator, or any higher status

— he is quite literally just That Good as a regular human being

🎭 sampo "cosmic irony" koski

— “man, it sure would suck to be aha the aeon of elation. glad i don’t have to deal with that. i love being mortal”

— “🎭🎉👀”

— “HOW DID YOU GET IN MY HOUSE”

sampo "cult leader" koski

— humility is a facade

— “lines” he won’t cross are a facade

— everything is for the purpose of appearing like the perfect leader (or candidate for leader)

— secretly the most insane out of anyone

sampo "secret agent man" koski

— doing aha’s bidding willingly

— a goon. a henchman even

sampo "tainted love" koski

— aha isn’t the most healthy person to be around, on account of the ten billion cosmic torments jokes they throw around on a daily basis

— guinea pig sampo is TIRED

sampo "sacrificial lamb" koski

— may or may not be aware of his sacrificial status

— created or being manipulated into a position where he becomes collateral for aha doing whatever the fuck they wanna do

sampo "impromptu therapist" koski

— the receiver of many rants and complaints unrelated to him within the masked fools

— becomes the “advice friend” even though this man should never be trusted for reliable advice

— but surprisingly he is the most reliable within the masked fools

sampo "sanest masked fool" koski

— just a long-suffering member of an organization whose followers are some of the most insane people you’ll ever meet

— permanent eye bags for having to put up with them

🎭 sampo "michael distortion" koski

— he was a regular guy once, but ended up absorbing aha’s eldritch power one way or another

— potential assimilation into one form

— aha didn’t expect the joke to joke back

sampo "court jester" koski

— similar to "ceaseless watcher's special little boy"

— the king’s (aha’s) favorite little jester

— and also they make out sometimes

— has a semblance of protection afforded to him by being the favorite (he uses this to his advantage)

— “jester’s privilege”

sampo "try me" koski

— aha is physically keeping tabs on the trailblazer

— sampo is too, but only to swat aha’s hand away like a kid reaching into a cookie jar

— usually a mad dash to see who gets there first

— leads to many situations where they make tense eye contact across the street or smth

— subsists off of pure spite & annoyance

🎭 sampo "favored of humanity" koski

— aha is one of the aeons closest with humanity, and has such developed a more “mortal” frame of mind over time

— eventually if you spend enough time around mortals you might just turn back into one

🎭 sampo "hedonist" koski

— why is he doing any of this? who knows

— who can possibly understand the machinations of what an aeon finds funny

— eldritch humor beyond our comprehension

🎭 sampo "cosplayer extraordinaire" koski

— “so this is my humansona his name is sampo koski he likes scamming people and has slutty slutty hip windows”

— likes to stay in character as much as possible

— kinda like playing a dnd character 24/7

sampo "long-suffering host" koski

— somewhat dual consciousness theory

— aha is just up there, and sampo has to listen to their annoying ass constantly

— can be a joke, chill possession scenario, or necessity for aha due to external circumstances

— may be a side effect of emanator status, or may just be another Classic Cosmic Joke™

sampo "unwilling hierophant" koski

— informercial: how would YOU like to receive PERSONAL and INCESSANT psychic messages from eldritch forces beyond your comprehension?

— “geez ew no”

— infomercial: is that a YES?

— “no”

— infomercial: thank you for signing up for our FREE TRIAL service!

— “wait no”

— infomercial: text "NO PLEASE STOP NO" to 69420 to UNSUBSCRIBE from the Laughter’s FREE psychic telepathy service

— “NO PLEASE STOP NO”

— phone: thank you for subscribing to our LIFETIME PLAN of FREE, UNCEASING, TORMENTING visions from AHA THE ELATION. please enjoy your COMPLIMENTARY descent into insanity!

— “god fucking damnit”

sampo "vacant apartment" koski

— possession receptacle that’s no longer in use and is left up to his own devices

sampo "moved to iceland and became a sheep herder" koski

— living off the grid

— only came back because something bad is gonna happen to belobog

— can be aha, emanator, or other high-ranking position

🎭 sampo "undercover boss" koski

— keeping tabs on the masked fools because they’re fanatical

— “what the hell guys this is not what i want” — sampo, probably

— they say or do something and he’s just like “not funny. didn’t laugh”

— y’know when people say “if jesus came down to earth, he’d be disappointed at what people are doing in his name” — yea that’s sampo but like for real

— damage control

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© written by sunderingstars. do not copy, repost, translate, modify, or claim my work as your own.

[starshine555]

Astro notes

These are things that I've observed from people with different placements in their natal chart. Some of these things might or might not resonate with some people, and that's fine. A lot of these observations are subjective, and they are not meant to be taken too seriously. But anyways, enjoy!

Scorpio mercuries and capricorn mercuries, are very investigative. They love getting information out of people and asking questions, especially scorpio mercury. From my experience, they are definitely the type to be into conspiracy theory, and they make amazing private investigators, as they love finding top-secret, underground information. However, I will say that this trait can occasionally come off as creepy or nosy, but I've noticed that that's not always their intention, it's merely just them being curious.

Idk if this normal but usually I can feel people's mars sign energy. If their energy is soft and passive, even if they're a leo or aries sun, they usually turn out to be a water mars. If I find someone that is very strong about their opinion and verbally loud, they usually turn out to be a fire mars lol. Air and Earth mars are a little harder for me to identify though.

Many people I know with Earth mars are amazing at manifesting things into their life. Earth=material things, Mars=action, thus making them really good at bringing and executing things into the material world (especially capricorn mars, HOLY SHIT.)

Cancer mars is a pretty accurate combination of both scorpio mars and pisces mars. When you first encounter them, they can be very protective of themselves and may conceal information about themselves until they feel like you are safe and you cannot hurt them, and THEN they are super openly affectionate!! Also they secretly loves hugs! (This is my mars sign lol)

Underdeveloped Gemini mercuries can lack emotional intelligence, very badly. They can be very quick to invalidate other people's emotions if their reasoning for being upset sounds petty or unimportant. Gemini mercury is a logic based mercury sign, so when they see someone upset over something they think is silly or small, it can make them think of that person as mentally inferior or weak. But for some reason they don't understand why people don't have that kind of empathy for them when they are upset 🤦‍♀️ . Also if they have mars in a fire/water sign, they can act very emotionally immature (ONLY if underdeveloped ofc.)

Libra is a pretty underrated sign. Something I think is really cool is the fact that many libra suns/mercuries I know are the kind of people that want to make sure that everyone gets treated fairly, and they don't want anyone to be left out. Personally, I think that's a pretty cool trait.

[vickyvicarious]

I wonder what is the "sympathy" Mina gave to Lucy in the letter we never get to read (the one Lucy is now replying to (May 24))

Thanks, and thanks, and thanks again for your sweet letter. It was so nice to be able to tell you and to have your sympathy.

There's a couple ways I can go with this line.

Genuine (sad). Lucy mentions being "able" to tell Mina something which she gets sympathy for. Perhaps this refers to the way Lucy had trouble speaking of her feelings for Arthur previously, and in general alludes to her being more restrained in her words and actions. I would read Mina's sympathy here as being more about Lucy's relationship with her mother being difficult at times, and about Lucy being restrained. Especially given context of certain lines that were later cut from the draft version of Lucy's first letter - Lucy expressed envy of her mother and frustration at having to just sit and smile in social situations until she feels like a lie. So Mina's letter could well be expressing sympathy for Lucy being restrained by social convention and reiterating that she is someone, at least, who Lucy can be freely herself with.

Genuine (hopeful). It's possible that Mina's sympathy was expressed for Lucy's specific plight in that first letter. That is, such intense feelings of love and hope, yet being uncertain those feelings are truly returned or if you're just looking for what you want to be true. Mina may well have gone through the same thing with Jonathan at one point, after all. And perhaps Lucy's thanks is for Mina offering encouragement while still being more levelheaded, so that she feels like she is being taken seriously (and isn't just behaving like a silly girl with a crush, something I could see her worrying about) and also finds hope for what she wants to be true. Lucy asked Mina to "tell me all that you think about it," so her excitement for Lucy's romantic hopes surely would have meant a lot to her.

Joking. Lucy's first letter to Mina had a lot of pretend nonchalance, at least at the beginning. And this letter starts out fairly lighthearted too, while she's still riding the high of being engaged to Arthur before talking about the other two suitors makes her feel sad for them. So it's possible that the 'sympathy' she's speaking of is a joking way of describing Mina just also getting very excited over her news of being in love with Arthur. 'Sympathy' as in 'expressing the same thing' more so than 'pity for someone', basically. This could also go along with the jokingly sad language she uses describing the three proposals: "It never rains but it pours" is usually used about bad situations, but could also just mean going from nothing to a lot of something very rapidly. Lucy went from wondering if one man loved her back to three men proposing marriage within a few hours. That definitely counts! And of course some of it was genuinely bad/difficult (turning two down) to justify the usually sad language, but the excitement was still there (getting three proposals, Arthur proposing) and so the edge of joking tone remains too. This line could be using that same kind of playfully sarcastic edge along with a sincerity too.

I think any of these three would be in character for both Mina and Lucy. And it might have even been some combination of multiple of them. The second two especially could overlap quite well, but it's definitely possible for Mina to express all three sorts of sympathy together in a single letter if she wanted.

...What I certainly don't believe is that the sympathetic letter alludes to Lucy lying in her last letter and actually not wanting to marry Arthur, as at least one interpretation goes. (Spoilers in that link; it's me discussing the article which espouses that theory along with others that cover the entire book.)

[daily-teki]

Day 114: I don’t actually have anything for today bc I’m working on sum moar sprites but drawing her based off her 4-koma and anniversary art I noticed that she’s drawn to look a lot like sara. So you can have my shitty little lightheaded theory instead.

The pose really got me, and even the eye and body shape, and the way the bangs are parted are almost a parody of the titular character so tied to the death game. I was doing a silly little thing over on the dailies’ discord server the other day trying to get an estimate of the floormasters’ heights from comparing their pixel sprites with other characters who have canon heights, and when I took off the extra height of teki’s platform boots from her memory dance sprite, she even had the same pixel sprite height (which was a little bit of a bummer bc I was having fun and it felt a bit like cheating).

Which had me thinking; maybe teki was made out of a base of one of the old sara dolls as a bit of a ‘toy’ for Asunaro to play around with designwise before they’d perfected making the dolls? Her hair looks much simpler and flatter than any of the other humanoid doll characters despite how long her extensions are, almost like a beta test of what could be done. It’d kinda be fitting for the toughest attraction boss to be built with the base of the most efficient candidate of the death game.

(Obviously this isn’t meant to be taken too seriously, just shower thoughts based on neat coincidences ig. Lmk your thoughts on it)

[trans-luis-serra-navarro]

Introduction post!!

Kia Ora!!!!! My name is Eric! My main account is @wisecrackingeric-2 where I am most active and post art!!!!! You may also know me as the person who hosted Serennedy Pride Week 2024!!

[if you have the time, PLEASE pretty please check out all the amazing art and writing under the tag everyone is SO DAMN TALENTED]

This is a side account dedicated to all things Luis Serra Navarro- I’ll be posting my own analysis, theories, character explorations and other general goofy posts!! I’ll also be reblogging posts about Luis I find informative or insightful, and some art as well!!!

This blog is meant to be a space to share theories, headcannons, and general positivity around Luis Serra Navarro, but also serves as a bit of a place to house any popular analysis/headcannon posts!!! So if you’re looking for something in particular, you’ll probably find it here!! Otherwise if you have a post you really enjoy but haven’t seen here, please please please feel free to send it to me!!!! I’ll also be posting about the ship serennedy quite often, and I’ll post about trans-related stuff every now and then!!

I most likely won’t be responding to anything on here, so if you URGENTLY need me for something, go to my main account!!!!! I also do NOT give permission for my posts to be screenshotted and reposted on other sites such as twitter or TikTok!!!!!

Please don’t interact with my account if you are a t3rf/here to try and “disprove” headcannons or erase important information, super hardcore pr0sh!p/fandom discourse blog/ship discourse blog/anti queer/race discourse, if you consistently whitewash Luis in any way shape or form and/or ignore POC voices, call Luis a ‘predator’ or a creep, or if you’re just going to be racist/transphobic/bigoted in general or if you’re only here to try and ‘prove me wrong’ or start and argument!!! And most obviously, if you come here and try to spout negativity about Luis, I will simply block you!!! This isn’t a discourse/meta analysis blog, this is just for fun!!

Also please don’t follow me if you’re an 18+/NSFW blog!! I’m not comfortable with sexual jokes!

Tl;dr: I love Luis a lot and he is always on my mind, so I made a blog dedicated to posting silly stuff about him!!!! Please don’t take my stuff TOOOOOOO seriously!!!

Hashtags I use for navigation under cut!!

#serennedyprideweek: the tag I used to host the Pride-themed Serennedy ship week in June 2024!!

#othersposts: other peoples posts!

#luisposting: my own posts/text posts!

#sillyposting: posts that are lighthearted or aren’t meant to be taken seriously!

#ericsart: Art reblogged from my main account!

#othersart: Art from other people!

#reblog: exactly what it says on the tin!

#serennedy: all things Serennedy-related!

#trans: for trans related stuff specifically!

#asks: for posts answering asks!

#important: important posts!

#to do: stuff I plan on responding to!

#Don Quixote 1957: for things about the 1957 Soviet Russian film Don Quixote by Orson Wells!!

#otherstags: for tags other people have added!

And finally, if you’re looking for a good end-all analysis video on Luis, I can’t reccomended HeroFatBrett’s video ‘Luis Serra — How RE4Remake Transformed Him Into The Series’ Most Tragic Hero’ enough!!! Unfortunately it won’t let me add links but you can find it on both of their YouTube channels!!!!!

[mesaprotector]

I watched Lain over the past two weeks. Twice.

The first time I saw it I didn't have a clue in heck as to what was going on, but I had a pretty strong feeling of what the show was saying. The second time I understood all of the secrets of Lain and am here to preach her gospel. Haha, just kidding. But I do feel strongly that of all the possible interpretations, the literal canonical one is the only one I've heard that isn't satisfactory.

In addition to all the crazy theories I've seen people come up with (Lain is Jesus, Lain is Shinji from Evangelion, all of Lain is about aliens, etc.) - and god bless the lovely people who write those - there are two common interpretations. #1 is that Lain is a program constructed to break down the barrier between the Wired and the real world. #2 is that Lain is schizophrenic and by the end of the series has gone completely nucking futs. You can think of these as the literal interpretation and the meme interpretation, maybe.

My problem with #1 is if you accept it, the finale is deeply troubling. One key theme in Lain is that Lain despises being observed, but she loves observing others. Notice how panicked she gets any time the Men in Black train their sights on her in the early episodes, or the repeated scenes of her family members opening her door to stare at her, say nothing, and leave. And this gets discussed explicitly in the finale, where Lain tells herself that maybe she prefers to be a god because it's easier to be a god than a human being - you don't have to be seen but you can see everything. It's very clear that the point being made here is that Lain, if given the choice, would choose to be human after all she's been through. As such, her decision to remove herself from the world feels like a defeat, a hollow tragedy, and a betrayal of her own arc. It's not bad writing, necessarily - it just feels bad.

#2, by comparison, sits okay with me, but it does feel a bit silly. You can wave away the entire show as a meaningless hallucination, and its ending as a complete break with reality. So why were we watching this again?

During my second watch of the show, after the ninth episode (the alien one featuring the ultimate husbando Vannevar Bush), I wrote down two possibilities that I still thought were plausible at that stage. My ideas were fairly similar to #1 and #2 above, but with a couple crucial differences, so I'm going to call them #1A and #2A.

#1A: Lain is the emergent consciousness of the internet, and this is the story of her trying to figure out her place in the real world.

The key thing separating this from #1 is that I never took seriously the idea that Lain was deliberately constructed. Rather, I saw her (in this version) as a being nobody wanted or expected, but one who learned to exist with reference to other people.

There's one scene that makes me dismiss the "constructed Lain" interpretation out of hand even before the ending - it's the scene where her dad says goodbye to her on the stairs, and expresses that he "enjoyed playing house". It seems very obvious to me that the scene isn't meant to be taken at face value, being that it follows up the increasingly weird but oddly human behavior of all of Lain's family members. But if you think Lain is literally a program, you have no choice but to take this at face value, along with everything else her family does. Instead, I immediately took their behavior as Lain's perception of them. To Lain, her mother is basically a nonentity whose only emotional act is to kiss her father on occasion. This isn't the behavior of a paid actor - it's Lain's vision of how her human mother would sincerely act.

With #1A, the ending of Lain is her recognizing herself as the goddess of the internet, and recognizing that she cannot participate in the real world - but she loves everyone in it all the same. They are no longer NPCs and simulations to her, but real people. I like that version of her arc, but my other construction is the one I find even more compelling.

#2A: Lain is a human girl. She isn't schizophrenic, but lonely, isolated, and prone to fantasizing. The majority of what we see is her playing out a fantasy where she doesn't have to give up her privacy and finds her secret desire for attention and love - on the internet.

I already mentioned above that all we see of Lain's family seems to me like it's filtered through Lain's eyes. According to this interpretation, that also applies to the rest of her life. In class the other students appear as gray statues in the background because she doesn't care about them. The Knights are people she talks to on the internet, but what they really do we never find out. Instead she lives an elaborate fantasy including secret organizations, aliens, and of course - herself as a god-like figure at the center of it all.

I wasn't sold on this interpretation until I thought in depth about the ending to the story, and specifically Lain's "reset". It was always very hard for me to explain the reset, in conjunction with Lain's apparent affirmation to stop living as a god and start living as a human. But then something clicked - if nearly the entire story is Lain progressing her own fantasy, then the reset is her decision to go back to the real world, not to leave it. She chooses to live as a human again after a very, very long period of dissociative introspection.

#2A gives rise to the question of what the final scenes with Lain's dad and with adult Arisu are. The more comforting and to me, less fitting sub-interpretation is that those too are "memories" - fantasies of the future - and the real Arisu is Lain's classmate. But my favorite of all is this: the real Lain is 14. Her father is dead. The real Arisu is 24 or so. Lain deeply admires Arisu but has not seen her in a long time - the version of Arisu Lain remembers was a middle schooler. Perhaps Arisu was her babysitter when she was a small child. And in this version, the final scene with Arisu is just reality - a meeting after so many years.

The only qualm I have about this version - call it #2A2 - is that Lain's crucial statement in the finale that "memories can be of the present or future, not just the past" isn't used to full effect. But emotionally it seems to fit better than anything.

Anyway, I think I've thought enough about Lain to earn myself the right to take part in discussing it. It was in case a wonderful atmospheric anime I'll probably remember for a long time still.

[twistedtummies2]

Year of the Bat - Number 15

Welcome to Year of the Bat! In honor of Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin, and Richard Moll, I’m counting down my Top 31 Favorite Episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series” throughout this January. We’ve officially entered the Top 15! TODAY’S EPISODE QUOTE: “Kids these days. No respect.” Number 15 is…Legends of the Dark Knight.

One of the great things about many famous comic book characters is their adaptability. Some of these characters were created nearly a century ago; Batman, for example, first appeared in the late 1930s. (He actually turns 85 Years Old this very year!) Some characters that old who were popular then have, for one reason or another, not stood the test of time. Batman has, and part of this is because his creators found him easy to adapt and reconfigure as times changed. Bruce Wayne and his universe have been portrayed more seriously or more goofily over the decades, and have been made to appeal to adults and children alike time and time again. “Batman: The Animated Series” is widely considered the most definitive take on the Caped Crusader and his world specifically because the writers who worked on this show understood this, and had a deep love for ALL sides of Batman’s world. The show, therefore, hits a near-perfect balance, overall, between silly superhero shenanigans, and dark, complex, sometimes downright brutal storytelling.

“Legends of the Dark Knight” is an episode that exemplifies not only the skillful balance of tone the Animated Series managed for the majority of its run, but acts as a tribute to the long and storied history of Batman, and the adaptability of the character. The plot focuses on a group of random children, living in Gotham, all of whom are gossiping about the mysterious Dark Knight. Through their banter, they start to share stories and theories about what Batman is really like, all of which pay homage to different past incarnations of Batman. Some of these references are relatively brief; for example, a passing friend of theirs named “Joel,” and his bizarre, strangely effeminate fixations on Batman, are meant to be a joking reference to Joel Schumacher’s much maligned film versions of the character. Another case is one young man who makes insinuations of Batman being some monstrous vampire, a reference to the Elseworlds “Batman & Dracula Trilogy” written by Doug Moench.

The most notable of these homages, however, are two long sequences of the show, acting essentially as stories within a story. The first is a tribute the late Golden Age and the Silver Age of comics, as well as to the Adam West 1960s TV series. It features an original adventure, with Batman and Robin battling the Joker, when the Clown Prince of Crime tries to steal the original score of the opera “Pagliacci.” The second sequence is taken directly from the pages of Frank Miller’s somewhat controversial (but highly influential) masterwork, “The Dark Knight Returns.” This one adapts and combines two scenes from the graphic novel, where Batman faces the despicable Mutant Leader. I love both these sequences; it’s neat to see the way the animation style changes for each to match the decade and story style (I especially love how the first sequence so accurately captures the look of Dick Sprang’s famous aesthetics). Interestingly, they also bring in new voice actors to play the characters in each one; instead of Mark Hamill, for example, Michael McKean plays the 60s-era Joker. Meanwhile, Michael Ironside – who would later play the devilish Darkseid for the DCAU – voices Frank Miller’s Batman. Both are perfect casting.

The episode ends with the kids bearing witness to the real Batman – Conroy’s vocals and all – duking it out with the villainous Firefly. I used to love this episode a lot more, but upon revisiting it, I felt I had lost some love for it, and I think part of it is this final sequence. While I love the idea of the kids encountering the real Batman after all that, and I suppose such a thing was inevitable with a plot like this…something about it feels underwhelming after the spectacular sequences we saw earlier in the episode. It’s hard for me to say what the issue is, but I don’t think that was the intention, based on the way things are set up and described in-story. Still, it’s not necessarily a bad ending, for various and probably obvious reasons. It’s a great episode that showcases a different perspective (several different perspectives, in fact) on Batman and the City as a whole, and if you’re as much of a fan of the history of this character – and the duality of the Animated Series itself – as I am, you owe it to yourself to give this one a quick peek. That is, of course, presuming you haven’t already.

Tomorrow we move on to Number 14! Hint: “This used to be a beautiful street. Good people lived here once.”

[opbackgrounds]

What's the silliest theory you've come across?

You’re going to have to specify silliest theories that were meant to be silly or silliest theory that was meant to be taken seriously

[truthtoself]

Posts like the ones below will forever be sad to me. Jokes meant to be fun, silly, and relatable *between us* do not have to be intellectualized so that others respect us. The issue is that these jokes tend to leave our spaces. And let’s be real, the majority of the girls making the jokes are actively pursuing education and career goals at the same time. Duality is a interesting thing.

Some jokes and choices women make are not going to be rooted in feminist theory that all 4 waves of feminists would approve of. We are allowed to be flawed while understanding and aiding in the betterment of our gender as a whole. However, regulating our sense of humor and how we relate to each other in OUR community/safe spaces (whether or not you participate is up to you) is not productive or realistic.

Men in general have low opinions of women regardless of how intellectual, poised, logical, reasonable, accomplished, or matter-of-fact we are. I want women to release themselves from the shackles of men’s approval. We will never get their approval, especially not by acting more like them. If you saw the Barbie movie then you know that the Barbies didn’t restore Barbie Land by acting like Kens, they acted like the women they are. I don’t want to live in a world where women act more like men to be taken seriously or achieve more. I want to live in a world where the systems that allow men to be men are dismantled. In order to start that work we need to balance our efforts and leave room for education and genuine grace.

P.S in REAL life women are actually progressing in so many spheres. The saddest parts of the internet would have y’all believe that women are regressing into absolute nothing but in all actuality we are increasingly more successful.

[cootcutebatkat]

I got my theories. Cannot say how right or wrong they are because I'm typing this out all in one session and I don't feel like finding papers to back up or refute my claims.

It's the assumption that your horny side speaks for all sides of you and that it is a serious yet uncontrollable part of you.

Which I bet traces back to rape culture.

Men, as the "doers" and the "penetrators", just can't help themselves when they see a beautiful women. (Lies!) So women!!! You must be careful out there! (Victim-blaming and lack of accountability for the assailants)

With sex positivity coming in (yay!), what followed was the realization that Regular™ women like sex too. A silly thought now, but at the time, it was unheard of. If a woman expresses interest, that brings in derogatory questions about her, such as her supposed "purity" and therefore, her morality. Which is why songs like "Baby, It's Cold Outside" exist, because the woman had to find out a way to say yes without actually saying it. It's why the words "Player" and "Stud" exist but "Slut" "Whore" and "Bitch" were the gendered insults.

This also traces to the whole "Sex is evil" bullshit.

And ofc... Queer shit. Sexuality and kink and all that junk. And neurodivergent, or as the neurotypicals see it, either Pure Children™ or Insane Monsters™. Either way, we have no autonomy because to them, we lack full and complete control of ourselves.

And with sex being evil and rape culture and "they just can't help it when you're dressed like that!", that's a bad combo.

And also. People take kink way too seriously in all the wrong ways. The only times when it should be taken seriously is to avoid injury on the body and the emotional well-being. Consent, aftercare, proper usage of toys, research, knowing how to use a whip or candles, etc. But people somehow believe that your kinks say things about you in ways they can predict. It says what you really desire. So if you're a top or a sadist or a dom or whatever, then you must secretly want to do all this stuff For Real Life.

Which is. No. Not how sexuality works.

Look, i do like playing around with the idea that kinks come from childhood shit. I can pinpoint where mine came from in the context of trauma. But the thing is... It's contextual. Your kinks can say either a lot or a little about you. And it's just. Fuck, I cannot articulate this part. Like. There's a million possible reasons why you could be into this one kink. And there's too many variables. I'm into my kinks for a million different reasons that all interplay together and it's fascinating. But it's not because I secretly want to be hurt again or to hurt someone for real life. And even if I did, I have self control and morality. And the only reason why they don't operate the same way in kink versus real life is because kink is not meant to be real life. It's fantasy.

Seriously. Kink is fantasy. Just because we take safety seriously doesn't mean kink is for real life.

For fucks sake. Rape culture and gender shits and queerphobia and ableism. It's like no one is allowed to have autonomy because we're all too stupid and unhinged to have sex. We just cannot be normal about sex. Apparently. I'm being sarcastic.

I theorize the reason "bottoms" appear more prevalent than "tops" on these types of spaces is that it is simply easier to be funny about being a bottom than about being a top without sounding like a sex offender

"uuuuu 🥺 pls cock me aaaaaaaa *runs into wall like Wile E Coyote running into his own tunnel painting*" easy as shit comedy

"I want to put my DICK in someone" whoa dude calm down, take it easy

[eternityservedcold]

i think i crystalized a little bit of my thoughts now that im actually at bros death in the comic. so basically the reason i feel like the lotak shit comes out of nowhere is for these reasons:

"d4ve has to hide away food in his room" is fucking stupid. like blatantly, its just. earlier mspa levels of silly. are you really and truly going to tell me that bro doesnt keep any food in the fridge either? i really think that if it were to be taken seriously it should be like a "going to sign your fucking leave form in crayon" level prank.

the rooftop fights are not really treated as any different from the other guardian strifes. i feel like this is so self explanatory it just wastes my time explaining it to you but aside from there like. being more of them. what is the actual difference between "bro harassing his brother with a puppet in a way that is blatantly meant to be humorous" and "j0hn attacking his dad with a hammer over cake"? what is the difference between "d4ve falling down stairs with a fucking sbahj reference" and "r0se threatening suicide in front of her mom, who is blackout drunk"? what is the difference between "bro slicing d4ves cheap piece of shit in half" and "j4de playing around with her grandfathers corpse/repeatedly shooting her dog in the head"?

bro, after a supposed show of "the requisite daily helping of domestic abuse, wait I mean ninja training" (direct quote from the author commentary) that d4ve experiences... continues to be shown by the narrative as a cool dude who does cool things. cutting the meteor to buy his brother time, repeatedly battling noir, and even teaming up with the alt version of the person he supposedly abused in a cool fight scene. i mean thats just like. not really the behavior i would expect from a character that the author is trying to say is a bad guy

the abuse thing literally isnt mentioned by d4ve prior to the lotak conversation. like literally at all. there are 4,044 pages (and three in universe years/four real life years) between d4ve finding his bros body and d4ve talking to d1rk about bro. not once does he speak of any abuse. and obviously i dont think the guy should be a 100% open book but its like. theres no inkling of this, textually, until the literal second it is happening. from the character who has the second highest word count of any character in the comic. sure ill believe that (sarcasm)

some other misc scruples that dont fit the format of this post:

d4ve is a victim of sexual abuse. this gets like half a mention in the entire (checks notes) 9,158 word conversation that consists of over 1,000 lines

he would not fucking say that. the entire convo is just "he would not, under torture, admit that". especially to a stranger especially especially if that stranger is wearing the face of the guy hes talking about are you fucking serious.

i am almost 100% certain this is the author incorporating edgy fan theories rather than anything he had intentionally planned and it fucking sucks when the fans did it too

i really dont give a shit about d4ves problems on the level where i would like to read a conversation about them that is, again, almost 10,000 fucking words long.

this is at the very end of the comic, after a shit ton of waiting to get to the climatic final battle, and then its more waiting, and not only that, its making me read a bunch of long ass conversations with deliberate filler panels, and the characters are lampshading that theyre waiting

[campbluelake]

Stinky 💲 Jacky-Bobby | Trial 4.2 | RE: Malyce, Saya

Jacky-Bobby's nostrils flare, as badly as if he just took a whiff of an unspeakable scent. An otherworldly stench. A positively rank one. The sort of thing that coils inside of a nose and settles in oh so terribly. That smell being the mere mention of magic in any context, especially at a trial that's meant to be taken seriously.

"A bad deal, as in a pact with a devil? You're right, that's a crazy theory, as crazy as what Saya just said. A deal to, what, walk through..." He catches himself. "A deal to be able to walk through the f-word does not a good deal make. That's crazy."

Censoring it as f-word is somehow worse. Jacky-Bobby means fire.

"On the subject of the note, I must say the rest of the note begs the question on if it was a note to self, or a directive from another. ...We can shelf that idea for now. I don't want us getting off-track."

T'is but a crumb of food for thought, to be used later if at all.

"What I find most interesting is that Leon wrote in his journal that his free lunch had been from an 'anonymous benefactor' in quotes. He specifically wrote it that way, with quotation marks, as in he was told to call someone that. Our culprit must've been aware of Leon's writing, enough to tell him that they didn't want any credit."

"And to put it as stiffly as 'anonymous benefactor.' Not 'Pollyanna,' or 'Silly Santa?' Interesting."

Silly Santa isn't a thing, Jacky-Bobby!

[myartdumpster]

shouldn’t it be something like... Logos

•

•

I’ll explain the thought process behind this in the tags

[lost-in-the-stars-for-eternity]

The way the fandom wiki words things makes me think that "client 46" is just William in human form